Practicality in the Theology of Worship

So, even though there hasn't been a lot of discussion here, the facebook note of the last post generated some decent conversation.

So, I have some more thoughts about 'theology that is eminently practical.'

Let me start by saying that by 'eminently' I mean 'obviously' or 'overtly.' Not huge or massive. :)

My thoughts really center on a couple of main areas. I'll share about one for now. Theology of worship:

Now there are lots of ideas about worship and what it is and how one does it or even how communities of faith do it in general, but to me, in worship's purest form, it's us humans telling God how great He is. It's our opportunity to give our thanks for the ways that God chooses to be active in our midst. It's our opportunity to pour ourselves out in thanks...spill our guts if you will.

Now if you asked 25 people how this happens best, you'll get 25 different answers. Probably because it all boils down to our theology of worship, or how we view the connection of God and God's people through worship. The trouble comes in when components of worship start to get confused with worship itself. And so, many discussions about worshiping God degenerate into a debate about form, function, or style.

We go around and around about all sorts of different things: those liturgical dancers make me crazy with those ribbons, why the hell is there a choir anthem, or, my personal favorite, I didn't get anything out of that. The issue is that all of these ideas (or any related ones) put the focus on us when worship was never meant to be about us. It's about God.

So, any discussion about worship and how we and God connect during it (whenever it happens) must begin and end with this question:

How did we do? Were people able to tell God how cool He is? Have folks left understanding who they are in relation to God?

Quick theology lesson. God is God. We are not God. Therefore, our primary function in worship is to celebrate that. And then, something funny just happens:

We start to value what God values. We start to feel passion for the things that God is passionate about. All because worship gives perspective.

And around and around we go: We worship God, we love God , we love God for being in charge, we grow passionate about God's passions, God breaks into our lives and in the lives of others as we live out God's role versus ours, we get excited, we worship God...

In my humble opinion, anything beyond that is colored bubbles.

We can debate the theology of components of worship. But it's not practical. It's not useful. It pulls the focus off of what matters most.

May we all be good stewards of our energy.